4 ways to wake up energised every morning

Waking up every morning feeling like the dead? This can be a total damper on your mood and productivity and completely ruin your day. If it happens for weeks on end, the outcome is never pretty.

Getting a good night’s rest and waking up feeling refreshed and energised is an important part of your mental health and performing at your best no matter what you’re doing. But sometimes sleep can feel like the enemy. Here are four things to try to improve your sleep and wake up energised and feeling ready to take on the world.

Make your bed a sanctuary

If your bedroom isn’t a sleepy, cosy haven, what are you even doing? Turning your sleeping space into a sanctuary of rest and relaxation is essential for a good night’s sleep. If you’re working, doomscrolling or binge-watching box sets in bed, your brain won’t be able to know when it’s time to wind down.

Level up your sleeping equipment by investing in a latex mattress, memory foam pillows and comfortable new sheets, because comfort is key. Next, remove electronics from your room and resolve to do nothing in there but relax and sleep.

Ditch social media

Getting off your phone before bed can do wonders for your sleep. In fact, spending less time on social media in general can be great for your mental and physical health overall.

The blue light emanating from your phone will keep your eyes and brain wide awake, making it tough to fall asleep after you finally put your phone down. Furthermore, once you do fall asleep your brain may still be buzzing for a few hours from all that stimulation. Try to put your phone down at least an hour before bedtime.

Get to bed early

It can be difficult to fall asleep early, but taking the steps to do so will make it easier for you to get a good night’s rest, wake up energised and take on the day. Think about what time you need to wake up each morning, and work the time backwards to allow yourself at least 8 hours of sleep. Then, use that time as your bedtime.

Take into account the fact that you won’t fall asleep immediately and plan to get into bed a little earlier. There, you can read, journal, meditate, pray or do some other calming activity to help you sleep.

Create an evening routine

If you’ve struggled to sleep, you’ll have noticed how sleep impacts your productivity. Creating and sticking to an evening routine is a great way to help combat this by setting yourself up for a good morning.

Start your evening routine as soon as you’ve finished up work for the day (which ideally shouldn’t be too late). Take time for hobbies and relaxation, cooking a healthy meal, going for a walk, stretching, dimming the lights, reading a book, putting your phone away, tidying your house… or whatever activities will set you up for good quality sleep and wake up energised in the morning.

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8 reasons why you’re struggling to sleep at night

Sleep is one of life’s essentials, and while some people love to hit the hay after a long day, it’s a lot more challenging for others. At some point or another, at least 30% of adults will experience short-term insomnia.

The good news is that if you’re one of these individuals, you should be able to get back into a regular schedule. You just need to look at some of the different factors that contribute to a great night’s rest.

Below, we’re going to talk about eight reasons why you may be struggling to sleep at night. Are you interested in learning more? Then let’s get started.

Uncomfortable bedding

If you find that the rest you’re having is interrupted, it could be because you’re uncomfortable. For example, incorrect support can cause neck and back problems, preventing you from staying asleep throughout the night.

It’s worth investing in some good-quality pillows and a hybrid mattress that is long-lasting and effective. What is a hybrid mattress exactly? Check out the link for more information.

Lack of routine

As much as we may not think it, humans are creatures of habit. Routine helps our bodies function correctly, improving our well-being, productivity and mindset.

If you don’t follow a regular schedule, especially at bedtime, it can significantly impact your sleep quality. This is because your body follows an internal clock, even at the weekend.

It’s also vital that you maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. Burning off some of that energy during the day will make it easier to fall asleep at night.

Poor eating habits

The food that we put into our bodies can also have an impact on our sleep. If you’re eating too close to bedtime, you could find yourself struggling with things like indigestion, heartburn and reflux.

It’s also best to avoid caffeine and lots of alcohol too. Both can reduce sleep quality and lead to potential health complications.

Temperature problems

Above, we talked about bedroom comfortability; temperature also plays a role in this. If you’re too hot or too cold, it’s not uncommon to wake up feeling unwell.

Try to plan in advance so that you prevent any unnecessary wake-ups. This might include changing to lighter bedding, wearing warmer pyjamas or even setting a programmable thermostat.

Stress and anxiety

Two of the biggest causes of insomnia are stress and anxiety. You may already know how difficult it can be to switch off your brain when you’re worried about a situation or reliving your most embarrassing moments.

To manage your stress levels, there are various relaxation techniques that you can try. However, if you feel like you can’t get on top of it, it’s worth speaking to your doctor about finding other solutions. Your feelings could be the result of a deeper issue.

Frequent napping

Having a nap throughout the day can be the perfect pick-me-up when you’re feeling a little fatigued. Although, sometimes, it can do more harm than good.

Frequent napping will prevent you from sleeping at night, and it may end up making you feel groggy rather than productive. Therefore, it’s best to keep them short at around 10-20 minutes for optimum benefit.

Noise

A snoring partner, car horns, aeroplanes and dogs barking – sleeping at night certainly isn’t easy when there are so many distractions. If you want to get those ZZZs, try and eliminate them as much as possible.

You can find some tips to reduce the noise levels in your home here. With a few changes, you’ll be able to sleep soundly without fear of being disturbed.

Sleep apnoea

Finally, while all of the above are prevalent factors to take into consideration, you shouldn’t rule out a health condition or disorder such as sleep apnoea. This is where your body briefly stops breathing throughout the night due to upper airway obstruction.

If you believe this is the cause of your disruption, it’s important to seek the advice of your GP. There are special devices that can be used to assist with the condition.

Other disorders you may want to look into further include:

Insomnia
Restless legs syndrome
Parasomnias
Narcolepsy

Final words

And that’s it! These were eight reasons why you might be struggling to sleep at night. Now that you know what to watch out for, you can start taking steps to get improved rest. With the proper sleep, you won’t just feel better physically, but mentally too.

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Price Points: V-shaped pillows

We overnighted at Justin’s sister’s this week as he had a dentist appointment back in Yorkshire. Sleeping in a strange bed can make for a terrible night’s sleep, but that wasn’t the case. And it was all thanks to a V-shaped pillow.

When we’ve stayed-over previously, I’ve used the V-shaped pillow only to sit up in bed to read or work on the laptop. On this occasion, it was laziness and tiredness that led to this sleep revelation. I couldn’t be bothered to reach over and swap the V-shaped one for the regular, rectangular one. I reclined and realised how comfortable it was for sleeping. I’m a side-sleeper and like a very firm, supportive pillow. My arms, neck and head just fitted around it perfectly.

Since returning home, I’ve been scouring the internet looking for V-shaped pillows. All three that I’ve featured have had excellent reviews. The Fogarty example even had a write-up in the Sun newspaper last year, it’s considered that good.

I like the idea of the grey terry fabric of the M&S one; but as I’ll be using it to sleep every night, I’d want to put it in a pillowcase. The texture added to the awkward shape would make putting on and taking off a pillowcase a bit of a workout!

Have you ever slept or do you sleep on a V-shaped pillow? What do you think of it?

Fogarty V-shaped orthopaedic firm-support pillow: £12.00, Dunelm
Teddy fleece medium V-shaped pillow: £19.50, Marks & Spencer
Kally V-Support pillow: £24.99, kallysleep

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Kally V-Support pillow